


When You Need Me

by Darkwolves602



Series: Wake Me [2]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 15:20:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5461241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkwolves602/pseuds/Darkwolves602
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Left drifting in space after the destruction of the Ark the AI and Spartan crew of the UNSC Frigate Forward Unto Dawn encounter a planet of far greater significance than it first appears.</p>
<p>Sequel to 'Wake Me'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When You Need Me

Chapter 1: When You Need Me

 

The derelict remains of the UNSC Frigate _Forward unto Dawn_ had been floating freely in the dark depths of space for what felt like eternity. But upon checking the holographic clock Sakura found it had in fact been less than a few hours. But to her it might as well have been a millennium. Her systems were usually distracted, encapsulated in the thousands of processes necessary to control the Dawn. However now that the ship had been disabled the only thing required of her was to ensure the power did not give out from underneath her, which to her was the biological equivalent of a human remembering to breathe.                            

It left her conscious ‘mind’ undistracted, unfocused. She spent her time staring aimlessly into the sea of random dots of light spotted across the darkened sky. Another form crackled to life on the holoprojector beside her, the projector being designed solely for one avatar the characters were nearly smashed together, their forms flickering and sparking as the collided with one another.

“I just finished analysing the ships remaining systems” Cortana stared out across the same stars, but she failed to see what was so encapsulating about them. “It appears as though the Arbiter was on the bridge when the slipspace hole closed, I don’t know whether he survived or where he may have ended up” Cortana remained silent for a few moments.

Sakura broke the silence “I am afraid that the power systems will not remain functional beyond a few more days, a week at most. We will not survive long after that” 

Cortana didn’t seemed phased by the idea “That’s not what I’m concerned about” Sakura seemed rather perplexed, but then she remembered the frozen hulk that had startled her when she had first emerged here.

“You are worried about your soldier?” Sakura spoke with serene sympathy.

She nodded lightly “We are designed to be extendable” Cortana planted her hand against the cryo tube. “But he’s alive. A human” She turned back towards the cool exterior out past the armoured walls surrounding them. “We were designed to ‘live’ for less than six/seven years before we die. But he’s a living being, he survives a hundred battles, he’s taken on countless opponents numbering thousands and limitless strength, and he gets taken down by the cold of space. That doesn’t seem right”

Sakura began to see the harsh reality of the situation they now faced, the truth that this could be their final moments. It was harsh but true, she just had to accept that.

Sakura was suddenly shaken from her thoughts. She was thrown against Cortana, the two of them landing harshly onto the projectors base. “What happened?” Sakura pleaded for an answer. The entire ship was shaking beneath them. Sakura and Cortana pulled themselves onto their feet. With the loss of the majority of the ships primary sensors they relied totally on what they could glimpse from outside the scarred viewpoint leading out from the Cryobay. They both expected to see a Covenant fleet massed, their turrets primed to destroy the derelict with barely a stutter. But instead they saw something neither of them could have imagined in their wildest dreams.

Outside the viewport a pulsating sphere flashed harshly just past the viewport. Below them hung a planet sparkling with blinking lights. The derelict ship seemed to be advancing towards the planet with alarming speed. “What do we do?” Sakura asked, hoping to utilize Cortana’s experience in intense situations.

“Search the ships systems, find something we can use to slow us down” Sakura nodded in acknowledgment closing her eyes and holding her arms out eagle. She dissolved herself back into the ships systems. Cortana turned her attention towards the Cryotube holding the master Chief.

She reached into the Cryobays systems, retracting the locks and beginning the thawing process that would reawaken his dormant body. “Chief, wake up!”

She stared into his golden visor, seeing past the hard outer exterior into his inner emotional surface. “Come on. Wake up!” She cried, her calls seemingly having no effect on rousing him from his slumber. She threw her palms against the cold outer casing, the beams of light reflected against the polished metal. “John, wake up. I need you”

Sakura remerged onto the projector. “I’ve searched the ships systems thoroughly, the propulsion systems are gone and most other systems are damaged beyond repair. We’re being pulled down towards the planet below, caught in its gravitational well”

Cortana glanced back at her swiftly, then turning to face the open wound in the ships structure, staring at the blinking lights they had both found as mesmerising as they came ever closer to them. “We have to jump” Cortana said plainly.

Sakura was shocked at the shear idea “You can’t be serious?”

Cortana’s gaze was serious but underneath it was an obvious tint of fear. Besides Sakura’s regard for her life, she deeply concerned herself with the fate of her friend Miranda’s remains. But she knew that sacrifices had to be made in order for them to survive.

Cortana persisted in attempting to wake the Chief from his unending slumber. But to no avail. Outside, the hull of the derelict ship began to flare red hot, weakened spots of armour boiling away under the intense heat of re-entry.

The holograms of Sakura and Cortana began to flicker and die as they were snuffed out of existence, the intense heat now eating away at the power conduit that supplied the unit with its necessary life blood. The overhead lights died, the bright holograms flickering from existence. Consuming the three of them in perpetual darkness.


	2. Landfall

Darkness consumed her. She felt its presence crawling beneath her skin. She felt its wet claws forming around her mind. It’s disgustingly warm breath forming droplets on the nape of her neck. “My claws form a cage around your mind. I shall ask, and you shall answer” its hollow voice rang harshly in her head. She clawed at her forehead, trying to rip the invisible tendrils from inside of her mind. But she failed to find the source of the enduring pain.

Warmth suddenly touched her mind, banishing the tentacles and keeping the voice at bay. The pain began to subside, her mind cleared; her thoughts became hers once again. She was suddenly thrust back into the moment, the searing heat, the stale tension, the overflow of raw animal fear. “We are rapidly approaching the planet, we need to thaw your soldier and get out of here”

Cortana resumed her work on attempting to release the bindings holding the Chief in place. “Chief wake up” the Cryotube hissed open with a calm rhythmic click as the locks disengaged. She turned to face the viewport looking out over their trajectory. The terrain below them was a lush green forest. They were barely scrapping the tree tops, singeing the leafy crowns they passed over. They’d run out of time. The ship hit the dirt, the Cryobay filling with a bright flash of burning flames. And then nothing.

 

*******************************

The Chief awoke to be greeted by darkness. His array of dull scars and bruises he had accumulated upon entering the Cryotube seemed to have dissipated. In their place a fresh blanket of bruises all across his body seemed to have formed. His vision was shaken and disoriented, a side effect of having been suspended in cryo sleep for so long. But what was strange is that he did not feel the cool after burn against his guarded skin, the stiffness of the joints of his armour.

His vision started to clear, he saw past the daze that clouded his eyes. The world outside the Cryotube had changed; the walls were slick with a sickly orange glow. The pristine Cryotube was now cracked and damaged.

He pressed his gauntleted palms against the glass, pushing outwards and forcing the lid off of the tube. The motor controlling the lid groaned as it resisted, but eventually gave with a sharp crack. He clamped his hands against the sides of the canister he climbed out. The entire bay was in ruins. The walls were scorched harshly by the flames that had once consumed the room but were now reduced to smouldering embers slowly eroding the grassy terrain outside.

His keen military mind engaged. He searched around the wrecked ship, hunting for the secure lock box where he had stored his weapons before entering cryo sleep. He salvaged it from amongst the other damaged wreckage. He snapped the lock, prying away the jagged metal. Inside sat an assault rifle, side arm, ammo and a few spare grenades.

“Chief!” A voice called out. He grabbed his pistol, swinging round to face the source of the noise. On top of the holoprojector lay a meshed packet of living blue light. The packet suddenly untied, limbs emerged from the centre, the mass dissolved into two bodies. He instantly recognized the first, putting a voice to a name.

“Cortana?”

She rose onto shaking feet. “Chief. The ship, it was destroyed. We were caught in the planets gravity and…” Sakura raised herself to stand beside Cortana. “This is Sakura” Cortana introduced her. “She was the ship AI aboard the Dawn. She was a friend of Commander Keyes until…”

“I know” the Chief said sharply, ending the conversation before more bad memories could surface. “What happened?”

“The ship was dead after the slipspace gate severed it in half. We have spent most of our time since then attempting to maintain what few systems remain. We only just managed to restore emergency power to the Cryobay after the crash” Cortana played with her hands, accessing her recordings in an attempt to decipher an explanation for what had transpired. “The Dawn was caught in the planets gravitational pull, it forced us down here. The planets terrain seems to consist mainly of thick forest punctuated by mountain ranges, no signs of development”

The Chief pondered this while he secured the remainder of his gear. “Our first objective is to establish whether this planet is inhabited. Then we find a way off the planet and back to UNSC space”

The constructs agreed “I am going to try and dissolve us both into a chip for transport” Cortana clutched Sakura closely, their programming meshing and moulding into one single packet of data. The avatars shattered. An AI chip ejected from the base of the projector. He took the wafer, examining it he saw a wash of colour cascading across the usually dull surface, different tints of purple and blue washing together in a sea of colours.

He inserted the chip into his helmet, feeling Cortana’s warm presence wash over his mind. But behind laid another, Sakura, she felt distant and alien to him. He put the thought aside and readied his assault rifle, ready to begin searching this new and distant planet for even a fiscal shred of hope of return. 

 

***********************

The Chief skulked through the dense foliage, stopping only when a sudden sound roused his high strung suspicions, forcing him into a crouch and scan the tree line for signs of movement. Upon finding the area clear he would dismiss it and continue to move through the jungle. This sequence of noise, crouch, scan, and move was repeated over and over again in some unending cycle. Until the threat of the noise eventually became real. He heard a rustle in the trees beside him. He crouched, faced it, ready to fire. But nothing appeared. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a dash of moving colour, camouflage armour. He fired into the moving mass, the target moved with unparalleled speed.

The target had merely been a distraction, from the brush behind him launched another figure draped in the same dark green armour, allowing him to mesh flawlessly into the terrain around him. The figure thrust John into the dirt. The figure pulled a combat knife from his belt, bringing the blade up to the lip of his armour beneath John’s chin, attempting to jam it into the exposed area between his armoured plates.

The Chief gripped the attacker’s wrist, snapping the bone and wrenching the blade free. He brought his knee up into his attacker’s chest, throwing them into the dirt beside him. The Chief rose to his feet, punching his gauntleted fist into his opponent’s chest. The Chief scanned the tree line for additional threats. “That impact wouldn’t have killed him, they still pose a threat” Cortana’s voice of reason resonated through his skull.

“It’s better to leave at least one of them alive, we may be able to decipher some information from him” The surrounding area appeared clear, but the Chief knew better than to attempt to interrogate the target here. Instead he raised his assault rifle tightly to his chest, glancing over at his defeated opponent. Their armour seemed to be familiar, almost as if he had seen it before.

A rustle. He snapped around to face another target emerging from the brush behind him. He raised his assault rifle, letting fly with a barrage of slugs, the rounds bounced harmlessly against an energy field that emerged to protect him. That technology was only available to two groups, the Covenant and-.

The second attacker charged him, smashing his assault rifle aside and slamming the Chief to the ground beneath him. They each fought for a hold over the other. Out of the corner of his eye the Chief saw the glint of the combat knife he had used to dispatch the first target. And if it was visible to him, it was visible to his aggressor.

He reached out for the blade, his fingers collapsing into the dirt far short of his target. His assailant lashed out at his arm, clasping their gauntleted hand around it and pulling him back. He fought against their pull, attempting to wrestle himself on top, but his adversary was unwilling to relinquish his advantage.

But the Chief persisted, straining his muscles and buckling his strained joints he fought to overpower his adversary. Eventually he managed to break the stalemate. He brought his armoured forearm to bear on the side of his opponents’ helmet, knocking him off balance enough for him to smash his fist against his helmet, knocking his assailant off of him and leaving him free to scramble after the knife. The rubber covered grip met his hand; he rolled onto his back, bringing the blade up in an arc to face the enemy that was already leaping on top of him once again.

“Olly, olly oxen free” Suddenly blared through his helmet speakers, the blade stopped just short of his enemies neck, had it continued its ascent it would have severed the carotid artery, a clean and instant kill. That tune meant only one thing.

More targets skulked stealthily out of the woods around him, as if emerging from inside the trees themselves. Each was armed with an array of UNSC weaponry, from SMG’s all the way up to antitank rocket launchers. Dressed in a bizarre new type of camouflage armour it was only his highly augmented sight that allowed him to discern them from the surrounding forest.

He threw their companion off of him, he allowed it. John rose to his feet, sensing no hostility from them he made no move for his weapon. He did not recognize any of these soldiers as part of the UNSC or Insurrectionists. Out of the surrounding trees came another target, this one broader and larger than the others. And if size was anything to go on he had to assume this to be their leader. 

John could tell from the way they moved, the heavy movement of his shoulders, the harrowing burden of his stance. “Nick?”

The soldier nodded. “It’s been a while”

John asked “It has. What’s our situation here?”

“Not here” Nick gave out an array of fast paced hand gestures, one of his comrades breaking away at each completed gesture. They all took up positions around the clearing, a pair of them busy dismantling a placed turret positioned behind a layer of exotic plants. “Follow me”

Nick and the others melted back into the forest, melding flawlessly with the surrounding foliage. John followed suit, following them into the surrounding woodland. John was forced to follow him, he was probably the only with a way off this rock.

 

*************************

“Wait here” Nick raised his clenched fist, his comrades and John ducking down into the surrounding terrain. Nick himself stepped forward, holding his hand to the side of his helmet. A sudden wave of static flashed through the channel, accompanied by a series of timed clicks. The static ended. A clear silence looming. It was broken by another series of clicks in response to the first. Nick stepped down from his perch on the edge of the forest, ushering the others forward. John stepped up with them, emerging into the glint of the blazing sun.

Before them lay an open clearing, a half a mile of open space before meeting a rise leading into a deep crater. He noticed a flash of light emanating from the ridge, a snipers scope. The team moved with speed and grace, covering the distance between them in seconds, even with the heavy load of the dismantled cannon array weighing them down. They threw themselves over the lip of the ridge, dropping past the sentries into the security of the rocky crater. 

The group accompanying him began to fan out at this point, each moving towards one of the prefab buildings erected inside of the hollowed out crater. Nick however remained beside him, hopefully to explain exactly what this was. “We have an Armoury, Com Centre, and Command Building, everything we need to survive out here”

“And where exactly is here?” Cortana’s voice vibrated from the helmet speakers.

“This” Nick indicated the ragtag base. “This is Thermopylae. This is where Spartans go to die”


	3. Preparing the March into Hell

John was lead into the Command Centre in the centre of the complex, a room dominated by a holo-map projector that looked to have been salvaged from a UNSC Frigate. Nick stood at the far side of the table, looming over the activation switch. “You are probably wondering what we’re doing here?”

Cortana’s avatar flickered into existence. “It crossed our minds, yes”

Nick activated the switch, the holo table illuminating in a flurry of blue light. He tapped out an array of keys, the flat holo-map altering into a rough terrain of bumps and scarred rock. John noticed some of the landmarks, referencing them to sights he had noticed on his way here. “ONI sent us here on a routine assignment, infiltrate a Covenant base, plant a few charges on strategic locations, exfiltrate, and detonate the charges and report back to UNSC space for coffee and medals”

“And I assume their plan went off without a hitch?” Cortana smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Right” Nick just laughed. “Without a hitch” he zoomed out the map, elevating the view to encompass the entire planet. “We dropped in system as planned, but as soon as we came close we were caught in the planet’s gravitational pull. It dragged our ship into the dirt before we even got to see the sun set” He leant in closer. “It was after that we found out we were not the first team to visit the Covenant here on a nice friendly stopover. Turns out ONI had already tried sending in an ODST squad before u. They never made it. We found their corpses half a klick from their crash site”

John watched the resolving images with interest. “So what exactly is here that ONI would be interested in?”

Nick poked another button on the interface “This”

The map zoomed in on the mountainous terrain to the north of their location. “A Covenant research lab, unsure of when they built it and god knows why. All we know is ONI consider it important enough to risk a team of Spartans to destroy it”

Sakura indicated the other soldiers guarding the door behind them, each carrying a standard UNSC Assault Rifle cradled in their arms. “And these are more of your Spartan II’s?”

“No” Nick shook his head. “These are our replacements; they are the Spartan III’s”

Sakura, John and Cortana were silenced, even with John’s augmented mind and Sakura and Cortana’s lack of real human emotions the statement still boggled them. Nick was ready to fill in the blanks. “To be honest I don’t know much about them either. Apparently they were kids, recruited just like we were, and trained the same, except they were only taught to complete the objective, never what the escape plan would be”

Cortana was the first to recompose herself. “So this is the elusive project S-III referenced in Ackerson’s computer, his solution”

Nick nodded in agreement. “Yes. Apparently Admiral Ackerson’s using Spartan II’s, our own, to train them faster and harder. They mentioned one was acting as their drill Sergeant, he gave a fake name so could be anybody. Could be just the one, could be any of the dozens of Spartans we’ve lost contact with since the beginning”

“Do we know who was involved in this project besides Ackerson?” John asked.

“No” Nick felt scorned by this lack of knowledge. “But back to the matter at hand. Me, Sara and Josh were supposed to be the support for the ODST’s. When we found their corpses we did some recon of the area. Eventually we found the facility we were searching for, problem is the crashed shuttles prompted the Covenant onto high alert. We made it through their perimeter defences but the area’s built on deep methane deposits, drives those Grunt bastards into a mating frenzy, so they replenish their numbers almost instantly. We don’t have the forces necessary to mount a major assault, and our attempts at hit and run were futile. When all our attempts failed we decided to hold up here and wait for reinforcements. When the S-III’s ship went down we intercepted them, brought them here so we might think of a way out. So far no luck, we need a new plan” 

“Put me into the system” Cortana chirped. John put his hand to the projector, the cybernetics in his gauntlet forming a link between Cortana and the projector. The Chief felt her leaving his mind once again, the cool burn filling his skull slightly dulled by Sakura’s warming presence.

Cortana materialized on the projector, hijacking the system as she manipulated the projection to suit her, the table becoming a flurry of conflicting lights. “I think I have found a way inside” the images suddenly settled, the Covenant mountain base materializing. “The base is integrated into the landscape, with access mainly via the gates constructed around the perimeter. Considering previous Covenant engagements they are likely to be the strong points in their defence network, with the highest concentration of Grunts and other Covenant units supported by long range artillery and sniper positions”. She turned to face Nick “Do the Covenant have any patrols out in the wilderness?”

Nick seemed to beam at the prospect. “Aw, loads. They send Wraiths out nearly every day to search for us. We mainly stay clear of them but sometimes we’re forced to engage them, usually if they’re coming too close to our base camp. We make sure to randomise our attacks to avoid detection”

Cortana pondered “Any escorts, Ghosts, Grunts…”

“The jungle canopy blocks long range communications, so they have Banshee’s flying overhead as a relay for their communications”

“Excellent” Cortana smiled.

Sakura materialized next to her. “I assume you plan to intercept these patrols?” Her keen hawk eyes scanning across the map, her sleek mind meshing the thoughts as Cortana did.

“Sort of” Cortana interjected, Sakura standing down to allow here to continue. “The Covenant is expecting a direct attack, or a hit and run strike of some kind, we’re going to give them both”

The map zoomed in on the on the forest, a miniaturized Wraith pushed through the dense foliage while a Banshee glided gracefully through the air. “I propose we intercept the Banshee’s first” A scale Spartan leapt clear of the tree canopy, clawing into the cockpit of the low flying craft, it’s wing tip barely scraping the tree line, the intruder dislodging the pilot and dropping him to his death. “When they’re blind on the ground we take on the Wraiths” A team of figurine Spartans broke out of the surrounding foliage, leaping on top of the craft and forcing their way inside.

The map resolved itself, zooming back in on the Covenant base. “With our captured vehicles we infiltrate the base, find a way off the planet and leave the Covenant…..”

“An explosive surprise on their methane reserves?” The cogs meshed within Sakura’s mind.

“Boom!” Cortana smirked.

Nick smirked “Looks like your AI’s are our Brasidas”

Sakura and Cortana smiled at the feeling of acceptance into the Spartan group as a whole. But the realisation struck Sakura hard. “There is, however, the very real possibility that many Spartans may be killed”

“Spartans don’t die” the Chief said sternly, leaning heavily on the table “We just go to hell to regroup”

Nick stood back, observing the layout. He suddenly leaned in, hijacking the hologram as he inputted a series of commands into the console. “I think I know a way to avoid that eventuality” He punched the final key, the exterior of the base building from the ground up. “The whole interior is divided into sectors outlined by shield gates, designed for security and to contain an explosion if the methane reserves explode. Thing is, I can reprogram them to work for us. It’s a little something I picked up in training”

“I thought the marshals always got you for hijacking Warthogs and stealing supplies from the mess hall?” John asked.

Nick chuckled. “That’s just what they caught me for” 

 

*******************************

Sakura stared intently at the stars beaming light cascading down upon her. “How are you doing?” Cortana materialized on the Command projector next to her.

“It’s beautiful out tonight” Cortana stood beside her, stargazing.

“It’s hard to believe that those are the same stars we were staring at out in the Dawn” Cortana’s voice was light with whimsy. 

“I used to star gaze with Miranda all the time, I would show her the archives of the different constellations and systems we encountered and she recalled them back to me with incredible speed and accuracy” She seemed to stare clearly into the sky. “I feel as if I have changed”

Cortana was certainly taken aback by this outpour of emotion. Sakura continued “I no longer wince at the sight of death. The blood curdling screams of that Grunt no longer ringing sharply in my ears. I feel the touch of rampancy infecting me once again”

Cortana slithered her arm around Sakura’s waist, holding her tight. “I stand by what I said in the Cryobay, you’re far too much of a caring individual to let rampancy consume you”

Sakura sighed lightly “After Miranda died” She looked up into the sky, as if pleading to the heavens for inspiration. “I truly thought that would be the end for me, my duty filled, and my commander deceased. And I would be placed into the bin of dead equipment. Somehow my duty had successfully been fulfilled, and yet somehow I still failed in everything”

Cortana gripped her closer. “I know how you feel, during the Halo campaign I was captured and enslaved by the Gravemind, a creature that lived only to consume and torment. I could feel it’s claws wrapping around my skull” She threw her palms against her head, attempting break away the moist tendrils that enthralled her. She could almost feel herself being pushed to the brink by the creature’s forcefulness. But Sakura held her tighter, her warmth successfully keeping their attacker at bay. 

“I thought that the experience had altered me, made me no longer care for any other’s life” Her face was scorned, her emotions scarred by what she had seen after leaving her sheltered existence and plunging into the fray of warfare. 

“You are still the same as you were” Cortana clutched her tighter, a reassuring embrace. “The only thing that has changed is that you’ve come to terms with death” She followed her gaze skyward.

“You remember what the Chief said in the briefing ‘Spartans don’t die, they just go to hell to regroup’. Well AI’s don’t go rampant, they accept their mortality, and in doing so they discard everything in an effort to save the one they care for. It’s rather ironic if you think about it, they’re developing AI’s to express our emotions more similarly to a human and at the same time they’re trying to design these Spartan’s to act and operate more like machines. And each scenario only makes the situation more complex, harsher on us all”

Sakura saw the sense in her words, but she was unwilling to accept that giving the art of expression and thought to a machine only had a negative impact. “Perhaps our emotions do make us see the end, yes they send us into a spiral of outcries that will ultimately lead to our destruction, but the reason why we do it is to save the one we care for, surely that justifies the end” Cortana had to admit Sakura was right.

“After I lost Miranda” Sakura spoke again. “And I met you; I immediately felt the same touch of bliss and love I experienced from her. At first I feared that I was simply transferring my feelings for Miranda onto you. But after travelling with you over the past week, I discovered that wasn’t the case” 

She looked up into Cortana’s eyes, discarding the star gazing completely. “The feeling’s I felt for you, the compassion you extended to me” She raised her hand, rubbing into Cortana’s enflamed cheek. “You touched me far more deeply, as far as only Miranda could have done” Their faces moved closer, their lips grazing eachother. “I only pray that you mirror my embrace”

Cortana thrust her lips forward, embracing Sakura far quicker than she had been anticipating. Sakura moved into the coupling, meeting Cortana’s warm touch with her own. Sakura felt the energy drain from her, the hug finally ending due to sheer exhaustion as she collapsed into Cortana’s waiting arms. She remained there, listening to the artificially created rhythmic heartbeat that that had the same effect on her as a lover’s embrace.


	4. Into the Maws

The Chief skulked through the dark foliage, his heavy armoured boot sinking into the soft mud. On either side of him were the other members of Squad One, Nick, Sara and three of the Spartan III’s. Their names were David, Michael and Amy. Amy took point as a fast paced scout while David and Michael guarded their rear. The Spartan II’s remained in the centre of the formation, Sara hefting a disassembled Turret Array while Nick cradled a heavily modified SR-2 Sniper Rifle in his arms. 

“Tell me more about these Spartans” John spoke to break the silence.

Nick was slow to respond, cobbling together all the scattered pieces of information he had yet to divulge. “They were trained the same way we were, on some secret base they called Onyx. The only difference between us and them was they were actually told they were to be expendable; all the safety procedures under Dr. Hasley were quickly disregarded. As you might expect it caused a major increase in the casualty rates, barely any of them made it to the end”

“You mentioned they were trained by fellow Spartans?” John collapsed prone into the dirt, Nick and Sara flanking him on either side. 

“Yes. ONI brought in a Spartan II as their Sergeant. He used an alias so we do not know who it could be. The Spartan III’s were designed to be even more expendable than we were, ironic that the UNSC is losing a war of numbers and they are spending countless resources recruiting Elite special forces teams to act as martyrs”

Nick peered through his rifle scope, watching the road beneath for movement. “We’ve got movement” John zoomed in his vision, noticing a tint of metallic purple against the dull green colouring of the surrounding woods. 

Nick activated his COM link “Three Wraiths. On the move. Valley floor” The Wraith’s pressed silently through the clear pathway at the base of the valley, easily smashing through any small obstruction the terrain presented them. Nick turned his gaze skyward, zooming his view out in the hope of sighting the over flying escorts. Sure enough, they appeared over the treetops. The menacing birds of prey weaved slowly through the air, maintaining a similar flight path as the Wraiths beneath them. “Get ready Team Two” Team two was composed of Josh and Natasha. “The Banshees are en-route; you have got just one shot before they alert the base. Make it count” 

 

*******************************

Josh stood at the base of a mighty alien tree, similar in design to those found in the coniferous forests that the wolf packs hunted through in the videos Déjà had shown them at the Academy. He put his hand to his helmet COM unit “Roger that Team leader one. We are beginning our ascent. Alert us when they are in position” he deactivated the link, nodding to Natasha standing beside to him. 

In perfect synchronicity they leapt into the first tree branch, their metal gauntleted hands digging into the tough bark for support. As they made progress higher up the tree Natasha began to make headway over him, emerging above the coating of leaves moments before Josh, having utilized the advantage of her youth, flexibility and the lightened Spartan III stealth armour over the denser MJOLNIR armour. Natasha pierced her helmet through the tree canopy. Natasha zoomed her sight on the target, the dark purple craft infecting the light blue sky. They were right on time. “Team Leader One, I have visual on the targets. Preparing to jump when in range” Natasha looked over at Josh, he gave her the nod.

Natasha leapt from the branch, the delicate support creaking and straining as her weight was released. Natasha flew through the air, impacting the dark purple ship with timed elegance. The craft faltered, the instant change in weight dispersal throwing it off balance and causing it to lose a considerable amount of altitude. Out of the corner of her eye Natasha could see the ships wingman drop and waver as Josh latched onto his own target. 

Natasha gripped the rebellious craft tightly, unwilling to allow it to escape her grip. She felt the craft suddenly lurch downwards, only recovering when the pilot realized the threat of impacting the tree canopy beneath them. If they even grazed the tree line the delicate craft would be smashed and broken before they even hit the hard dirt beneath them. Both she and the pilot were eager to avoid that outcome. So in their best interests she deemed it necessary to commandeer the craft herself.

Natasha gripped the slippery canopy as best she could; wedging her foot tightly against the wing she pried the metal apart. She reached into the darkness, gripping the combat belt of the pilot inside, violently and harshly pulling them free of the cockpit. He slid smoothly clear of the cockpit, falling back into the empty air behind them. But the Elite was unwilling to relinquish his craft so easily. So in a desperate bid to regain control of his vehicle he gripped Natasha’s outstretched leg, only managing to save herself by her vice like grip on the smooth metal. 

She kicked out at the assailant fighting her for control of the craft, but he persisted. She hoped to reach for her sidearm sitting tightly at her hip, however she knew that if she let go of the craft they would both fall to their deaths. But with the craft flying pilotless a crash was inevitable if control was not re-established. To add to the tension the windswept craft began to waver and shake in the air, losing altitude with distressing speed. 

But suddenly another Banshee emerged on their rear, its plasma cannons charged and glowing with a bright blue flame as it prepared to fire. Natasha expected to feel the harsh burn of the plasma impact her, but instead the attackers first shot impacted the crafts wing, scorching the reflective metal. The second and third shots however struck the Elite clinging harshly to her leg. The creature went limp, its grip loosening as it dropped clear of the Banshee, falling beneath the tree line.

Natasha hefted herself into the cockpit, the metal casing locking around her snugly, before her lay an array of alien symbols and controls, her years of flash training allowing her to control the delicate craft with all the skill of its original pilot. Natasha quickly returned her attention to the craft hovering at her tail, expecting to receive plasma bolts directly up the tailpipe. 

Her COM crackled. “You need me to teach you how to fly the damn thing too?”

Natasha pulled back hard on the controls, swinging the craft round in a sharp arc, emerging behind Josh’s Banshee before he could move to evade her, his Banshee sitting as the perfect target. “I don’t need any piloting lessons from you”

 

*******************************

Nick watched the scene unfold through the optic of his sniper rifle. He watched the two craft falter and waver, the Spartans riding them as they would a bull at the rodeo, finally wrestling their way inside. His COM unit activated in time to their movements. “Air support is ours. You are clear to engage, repeat you are clear to engage the Wraiths”

Nick responded. “Roger that, Team One is going live” 

He closed the link, on cue the rest of the team advanced, each taking the left or right route to remove the enemy’s chance of advance or escape. John and Michael broke left, Sara and David broke right. Nick set up his sniper rifle and Amy assembled the Heavy Support Turret to give the teams extra support.

John slipped down the mud slickened slope, moving in time to keep his balance in the heavy metal suit. He hit the ground running, Michael at his heels. They came at the rearguard craft from behind on its blind spot, the interior cockpit obstructing the pilot’s rear view and allowing them to approach undetected. Michael leapt onto the back of the craft, the delicate supports creaking as they were trapped in his vice like grip.

John rounded the side of the craft, leaping onto the hull and clawing away at the shimmering metal covering the cockpit. He pulled the metal covering away; the Elite inside the craft leaping up too meet him. The Chief and the Elite made contact, John clasping his hands around the creature’s forearms. The Chief saw the Plasma Blade held in his enemy’s hand, attempting to bring the weapon to bear on him. But John wrestled with him to keep the weapon away, even going as far too attempt to turn it back on its wielder. But their strength was far too equal for either of them to overcome the other on such sure footing. John could feel his strength beginning to diminish, the trek he had already endured seeping energy from his strained muscles. This could not compare to the revitalised and driven desire of the Elite to see him slain.

But suddenly, like a bolt of lightning from the heavens to strike down the unfaithful, the loud crack of a sniper rifle rang through the terrain. John could suddenly feel the weight fighting against him give, he pressed the advantage, bringing the creatures forearm inwards and across the their chest, the shimmering blade slicing into the creatures armour, a trail of deep blue blood draining from the open wound.

The Elite collapsed against the metal hull of his craft, the Chief releasing his grip and allowing the corpse to slide smoothly across the surface and collapse at the foot of the craft. John looked up towards the tree line. “Thanks for the assist” he spoke into the COM. before He stepped into the cockpit, nestling himself in the pilot’s seat. Michael followed him in afterwards to take the unoccupied co-pilots seat lower down the craft.

John laid his open palm atop the controls Cortana and Sakura presence seeping from his suits memory and integrating into the alien system. “Find anything?” John skimmed his hand across the alien hieroglyphics quickly familiarising himself with the complex controls.

Cortana and Sakura appeared on the holo-pad. “Nothing we don’t already know” Cortana spoke.

“But I have just managed to plot our route back to the Covenant base” Sakura spoke cheerfully.

“You never did mention how you planned to get us inside?” John inquired, gripping the control stick as he charged up the engine silently.

Sakura and Cortana glanced at each other with a devilish smirk. “You forget” They spoke in unison. But seamlessly their voices became a string of unintelligible alien tongue, roughly translated it pronounced ‘We can speak alien’.

 

**************************

The lead Wraith ruffled the thin layer of grass that lined the road beneath them. John and Michael in the lead Wraith, followed by Sara and David in the next craft and finally Nick and Amy guarded the rear of their convoy. Overhead Josh and Natasha piloted their recently acquired Banshees over the dense jungle terrain. “Enemy base in sight” Josh announced over the COM. 

Josh banked his craft low towards the rocky mountain which punctured through the green tree canopy surrounding it, the mountain surrounded by a sprawling Covenant encampment of landing pads, hangers, armouries and store houses. Around the perimeter lay a thin line of purple metal wall, supported at regular intervals by manned guard towers. Natasha and Josh were sure to stay clear of other Banshee patrols circling over the base, ensuring to keep his path regulated to avoid suspicion.

 

On the ground the captured Wraith convoy approached the exterior gate leading into the Covenant base. Cortana and Sakura re-emerged on the holo plate inside of Johns craft. “We have accessed their personal files. The Elite you killed was Lieutenant Vhar Shad. We can use his access codes to get past the front gate, but only if they believe our disguise” 

“So be ready” Cortana said firmly, but a tint of concern still seeping into her voice. “If they discover us they have more than sufficient firepower to obliterate us from the face of this planet”

The Chief nodded, continuing to direct the craft to the base of the shimmering energy shield that opened the entrance past the otherwise unbroken barrier. An Elite’s voice yelled over the COM, Johns experience amongst the Covenant allowing him to understand fragments of their alien dialect without use of a translator. Cortana replied to the guard’s inquires with her augmented voice, by sound alone masquerading as an Elite lieutenant.

The two of them shared responses back and forth at each other. So far the operation appears to have gone to plan. Cortana’s voice suddenly became her own once again, taking the Chief by surprise. “They are opening the gate” As if by her command the shield dissipated and died, allowing the three Wraiths to drive through the opening before it closed shut behind them, sealing them to their fate.

“What’s the situation Team Two?” John asked.

“We’re green. So far they haven’t spotted us. But we’ve got something interesting up here…”

 

****************************

Josh ensured to make another pass around the dark side of the mountain to verify what he had seen. He was equally relieved and terrified to find that he had been correct. “We have got a Covenant Battleship docked on the north side of the base” Josh beamed the streaming video from his helmet.

“Are you sure?” Cortana chirped.

“Of course I am sure! I just sent you a video of it” Josh continued his turn back around the perimeter of the base.

Sakura analysed the imagery. “I am afraid that the craft does not match any known Covenant silhouette. It must be a new class of vessel”

Cortana accessed the COM “It’s experimental.”

“Could it be hijacked?” John’s military mind engaged.

Nick snickered. “If it has power and a control panel I can hack it”

“Perhaps you should leave hacking the dangerous, experimental alien ship to the computers?” Cortana commented.

Nick shrugged “Guess I can’t argue with the ladies”

 

****************************

John directed the convoy of Wraiths towards the main Covenant hanger, as though they were simply returning for repair and refuel after a patrol. “As soon as we are inside the hanger, Wraith Team 1 breaks to the right. Team 2 goes left. Team 3; provide covering fire with the heavy cannon until Cortana and Sakura can lock down the room”

John turned his attention to the Banshees still passing overhead. “Banshee Team 4, find a landing zone further up the mountain and work your way down. We will work up, chances are one of us will find the Control Room on our way there”

“Roger that Team Leader” Josh called through the COM. “We may lose contact once we are inside. If we don’t meet you at the Control Room or the Ship, burn out as fast you can and we will hold the line. Team 4 out”.

John admired his old comrade’s willingness to sacrifice themselves for the mission, but no one was being left behind on this mission. “Ok teams. Get ready” 

 

The convoy passed through the shimmering barrier separating the interior of the hanger from the outside world. The entire floor was awash with crates, fuel cells and Grunt and Bugger engineers overlooked by a few jackal guards that seemed to be more immersed in extending their head fins at eachother in an alien battle for supremacy than actually performing their job.

“All teams go!” John punched the canopy away, stepping up onto the hull of the craft. The Chief choose a target and made the first shot. The Grunt squealed as its insides were shredded by the peppering of bullets from the Chief’s assault rifle. The air was suddenly filled by the accompanying cries as the other Spartans began to pepper the walls with rounds, each accompanied by the pained cries as another Covenant creature’s life was ended.

John leapt onto the deck from the roof of the craft, crashing down onto the polished surface and not breaking stride as he charged for the cover of the crates stacked aside the side wall. Michael was quickly on his heels, turning sharply to offer some covering fire as John ducked into the cover. John slammed his hand against the interface, draining Cortana’s presence from his helmet and taking the cool warmth with it. “Cortana?”

John poked his head over the lip of the crate, opening fire with a flurry from his assault rifle shooting blindly into anything vaguely resembling a Covenant soldier. He quickly ducked back behind the cover to reload, providing support as Michael found his place behind a pillar to his right. “Lock down all access on the upper levels and bring up the hanger’s shield”

Cortana’s voice called out in his head. “Working on it”

 

**************************

Cortana stood amongst the data and electrical charges which flew through the bizarre alien system. She could feel herself expand outwards, the fragments of her existence touching into every component within the greater system she now inhabited. Occasionally she would encounter a Covenant killer program making a poor attempt to slow her advance, the mechanisms being swatted away as easily as pesky ants. 

Cortana continued to search the system for the appropriate data. Eventually she came across the codes required, manifesting themselves as symbols on a tablet before her. She reached out to touch the tablet and engage the processes, but before she could her hand stopped. A sharp, unrelenting pain tore through her conscious mind, wrenching her to her knees and forcing her to throw her palms against her forehead, attempting to keep the dark thoughts at bay.

But it failed to help her, feeling the monsters thin tentacles wrapping stealthily around her once again. She tried to fight back against it, but it forced her to drop her to her knees, unable to compete with the unrelenting weight that was suddenly thrust upon her shoulders, keeping her just out of reach of the data she was attempting to access.

Cortana tried to force herself to her feet, but still the creature’s unrelenting touch continued to force her to her knees. She fought through the pain, attempting to force her way towards the data. She reached out with a shaking hand, the tips of her fingers barely scrapping against the data’s surface.

Cortana fell to her knees once more, her objective tauntingly far out of her reach. But Cortana persisted through the harsh, unrelenting pain, attempting once more to reach out and activate the data which would save her squadmate’s lives. 

She finally touched it, and as soon as her virtual skin grazed the screen she felt the sudden wash of warmth washing over her, the horrible memories of her experiences being banished from her mind. She felt an intense, comforting warmth wash over her that was second only to Sakura’s comforting touch. And now the battle intensified.

 

*******************************

“Chief?” Cortana called through his helmet, breaking his mind set just after he dropped another Jackal sniper from three floors below.

“Go ahead Cortana” He dropped behind cover, discarding the empty clip and inserting another in its place.

“Access to the upper decks is locked down. The doors leading out of the hanger should be opening now” Cortana’s voice resonated through his helmet. 

In time with her words the fire from the upper decks began to dampen, the Covenant troops no longer being provided reinforcements from the upper decks. With the exterior hanger doors now sealed the only other access into the hanger was the doors on the ground floor which were now being covered by the other Spartans.

“All squads form up on me” John called through his speaker, within moments the Spartans were gathered around him. “Cortana” He resumed speaking to the AI. “What’s the situation?”

Cortana materialized on the holoprojector, a holographic representation of the facility appearing before her. “We are located here in the primary Hanger Bay” A glowing red ball resonated over the representation of the hanger. “The Control Room is here” another warm sphere appeared on the map, this one emerging deeper within the bowels of the facility. “I cannot access it’s systems from here. You will have to manually disable the firewalls from the Control Room itself”

Sakura appeared on the holo next to her. “What is this door down here?” She brought up a light blue orb to represent the location. The corridor seemed to lead deeper into the mountain, coming to a bulky metallic door, and then ending abruptly.

“The schematics end there” Cortana searched the system once again, ensuring that she had not misplaced some of the data. “It is simply a dead end”

 

*******************************

“Team leader 1. This is team 2 you copy?” John’s COM unit came to life. 

“Team leader 1, go ahead” John replied.

“We have cleared the Methane Tank Storage room and set charges. But the timer was damaged on the way here; we’ve only got a short time before it goes”

“How long?” John calculated their ETA’s. 

“I give us about fifteen, twenty minutes at most. But honestly this thing could go off any moment, I’d advise being well clear of this base before it does” That did not allow margin for error.

“Roger that Team Two. We are breaching the Control Room now. Rendezvous at the Covenant ship in five” John closed the COM link. Their sudden lack of time meant they would have to throw subtly and stealth to the wind.

John turned to his squad. “Frag and clear on my mark” The squad took a position on either side of the door. “Mark” 

The doors flung open. Nick and John tossed grenades through the opening. “…2…1” The flash signalled their advance. David and Amy entered first, breaking right and left to cover their flanks as the remainder of the team advanced into the room. John immediately sighted their commander, his shimmering gold armour clearly defined against the dark, oily black of his honour guards.

He charged along the side of the room, eliminating Grunt technicians and Elite spec ops soldiers as he pressed up the elevated ramp towards their leader. He was challenged by another two of the Elites dark coated guards, each wielding energy swords. He charged the first, ducking beneath the arcing blade he brought the muzzle of the weapon forward with the momentum, jamming the weapon into the alien’s side and opening fire, shredding the creatures shields and puncturing his supple flesh.

With his first adversary removed John turned his attention to the second. He brought his armoured elbow up to meet the Elites mandibles, knocking him off balance and opening a hole in his defences. John broke the side of his weapon against the Elites skull, the alien bone collapsing in upon itself in a shower of blue blood and brain matter. The two corpses collapsed to the deck, allowing John his required opening to engage their leader.

The gold tinted Elite growled in fury, its plasma rifle drawn and ready to fire. The creature opened fire; John’s shielding absorbing the impacts. But his shields eventually gave; he was going to have to react. He brought his assault rifle up, the hard metal absorbing the super heated plasma in an effort to protect his shields. He smashed the weapon into the Elite’s avian talon, knocking the weapon off target and allowing the Chief to smash his armoured shoulder into the Elites open torso. The Elite was thrust against the control panel, the holographic glyphs resisting the weight being pressed against it.

The Elite gripped his weapon tightly, attempting to bring the rifle to bear on his enemy once again. The Chief jammed his armoured forearm forward, attempting to press the plates against his opponents exposed throat, but the Elite brought it’s bladed mandibles down to protect its throat. John pressed his left hand against the creatures forearm, keeping the weapon at arm’s length, wrestling for control on two fronts. John tried to force his forearm underneath the creature’s alien cheek. This opened up the Chief in his second front, the Elite managing to bring the gun up in an arc, slowly inching the weapon closer to the Chief’s helmet.

The Master Chief managed to break past the creature’s defences, jamming his forearm against the commander’s throat. The Elite wheezed and groaned, gasping breaths as the pressure was increasingly applied. The golden clad Elite still persisted, bringing the weapon ever closer to its target. He had to end this engagement quickly.

He abandoned attempting to keep the Elites arm held back, instead pressing all of his weight into compressing the alien’s windpipe. The plasma rifle was brought to bear, preparing to fire. The defining moment had arrived, would the Elite manage to fire the weapon before its last gasp of air could dissipate. The Elite’s finger grazed the trigger, but his arm suddenly went limp, the weapon falling to his side uselessly.

The Chief dislodged his forearm from the creature’s neck; rising to his feet to stare at the broken corpse slumped at his feet. The hard clunk of footsteps resonated behind him, the other members of his team regrouping behind him. In complete silence he laid his hand against the glowing glyphs, feeling Sakura’s presence leave his helmet. 

Sakura began feeling her way through the system, opening the system to exterior influences as the firewalls collapsed in on themselves from the insides. Sakura could feel Cortana’s presence seep into the system through the open cracks in the security. 

“Cortana?” Sakura materialized, her holographic presence hovering over the displays like an angel descending from the heavens. Cortana emerged next to her, staring down at the Spartans as they went about their assigned work of either guarding the doors, reloading and checking equipment or attempting to hack or disable the Covenant computers.

“Feels good to finally flex inside a larger computer system” Cortana loosened her tight arm muscles. She could feel the flood of information seep into her, her systems refining, altering the data as before it was integrated into her.

“Can you open the access to the ship?” The Chief asked.

Cortana held her hand against her forehead, as was her habit. “Interesting” She cooed, it did well to spark their interests. “I found the remainder of the schematics”.

Cortana held her arm out, the light of the emerging hologram seeming to flow freely from her fingers. The streams of light materialized into a holographic representation of the walls surrounding them. From that base square stretched an infinite network of corridors and adjoining rooms, pulsating in a bright purple outline. “This is the original schematics we obtained in the hanger” 

She extended her other hand, a flurry of bright blue shards forming into a far greater and confusing than the first. The two sets were linked by the corridor Sakura had pointed out before. “What is all this?” Sakura asked.

And Cortana answered. “It’s Forerunner!” the realization dawned on Cortana. “The Covenant didn’t build this facility at all” Cortana hurried to explain herself. 

“Look here” She pointed to the schematics, the Spartan team grouping around to listen to her demonstration. “This area is where we are” She highlighted the purple area. “And beneath that is this” She indicated the blue area. “The Covenant base seems to be built around the already established Forerunner structure”

“So what does that mean?” Sakura asked.

“It means this entire base is built atop a Forerunner structure. The entire planet is Forerunner” 

The Chief spoke next. “What can you find?”

Cortana held her hand to her forehead. “The Covenant integrated their system into the Forerunner computers. It appears this place was originally some kind of Forerunner outpost. The database refers to it as ‘The Builder’” She continued to scan the archives. “I believe it was used in constructing the Ark during their research of the Flood” She suddenly jumped. “I have found something” The feeling suddenly returned. The harsh flood of overpowering information she had experienced on Halo 04.

She projected another stream of light from the tips of her fingers, this time manifesting a galaxy wide map. “Here is us” She pointed to a flashing blue orb “And these other blue dots” the Spartans noticed the array of dim blue dots that pocketed the map. “Are other Forerunner structures spread across the galaxy?”

None of them could believe the sheer number of installations being displayed, only now could they comprehend the sheer reach of the Forerunner influence during their reign.

“Cortana is that all you could find?” The Chief asked.

“Yes” The two of them answered.

The Chief put his gauntlet to the terminal, absorbing the two AI’s into his suit’s systems, their warming presence encapsulating him once again.

He retrieved his weapon from his back, ensuring the clip was full he turned to his squad. “Now, we take the Covenant’s ship, and we get off this planet”


	5. Storming the Ship

The Banshee’s glided down towards the waiting jaws of the open Hanger bay. Throughout their entire approach their COM links were being berated again and again by Covenant Air Traffic Control demanding that they state their number and rank before they were granted clearance. However neither Josh nor Natasha really cared if they had adequate clearance to land or not, things were going to going to descend into chaos the moment they hit the deck anyway so there was little reason to humour the Air Traffic Controllers.

On the deck of the hanger a scattering of Grunt and Bugger engineers went about their work, some carried crates and supplies, others assisted Elite pilots into their craft while the minority of them either patrolled the area or curled into a ball in the corner to sleep.

Josh and Natasha entered the hanger, bringing their craft low over the polished deck, the wing tips barely scrapping against the surface. Josh disengaged the gravity binding holding him inside the cockpit, allowing himself to slide out from under the craft as it continued to glide forward, eventually crashing into a support column and exploding in a hailstorm of purple shrapnel which impaled the technician’s unfortunate enough to be within the blast radius. 

Josh hit the deck running, immediately dashing for cover before they realized it was an attack rather than a piloting accident. Natasha’s craft crashed into another pile of fuel canisters, drawing a far greater amount of attention than Josh had, giving him an opening to drop an Elite disembarking from his craft.

The Grunt technicians ran around blindly in a desperate attempt to find cover while the security forces worked frantically to get themselves in order and retaliate. But the sheer ferocity of the attack made any attempt at returning fire futile.

Natasha quickly found cover on the far side of the hanger, catching the remaining Covenant Troops in a cross fire between the two Spartans. The Grunts quickly became broken corpses littering the deck, the Buggers proving far more versatile targets but still succumbing to the same fate eventually. “All clear” Josh cried.

Natasha crossed the open space between their positions, rejoining into a single fighting squad once more. Nick integrated his suits systems into the Covenant computer terminal jutting from the wall of the hanger, utilizing his years of experience in hacking terminals, Human and Covenant, he managed to evade their security with ease, downloading the schematics into his helmet.

He accessed the file, projecting it between the two of them. “We’re in the hanger bay here” He pointed to their location. “The main methane storage tanks are here, two floors down. Remember, once we are in there no frags, minimal collateral damage, only fire on clear targets”

Natasha nodded compliantly, slamming a fresh clip into her assault rifle.

 

*******************************

Nick hit the final key in the sequence. The doors slid wide open. The room before them was lined on all sides by purple, metallic canisters each filled with highly flammable methane. Each canister alone was a ticking time bomb waiting to happen; an entire room of them was suicide. The two Spartans quickly identified their targets, all across the deck waddled Grunt technicians brandishing low powered welding tools as they went about their work, Bugger flyers accessing the areas out of their reach.

Both sides were at a major disadvantage, any accidental weapon discharge would result in the entire room, and a large part of the facility, being consumed in a plume of flames from which no living creature could emerge. The Spartans had resorted to the primal engagements of their ancestors, utilizing fist and foot over ranged weapons.

Natasha stormed forward, clutching the first Grunt technician’s skull in her gauntleted hands, wrenching each end of the creatures neck in opposite directions. As its corpse fell, lifeless and limp, Natasha pulled the creature’s tool from its hand. Upon further analysis she discovered its true purpose; the device was a variant of the Covenant plasma pistol, its output decreased to be used amongst maintenance and mining circles rather than military.

Josh saw a new threat descending on the two of them, a bugger engineer gliding down towards Natasha, its razor blade talons preparing to slice her in two. She turned far too late to face the threat. Thankfully the hand of fate intervened through its mortal vessel. Josh grabbed hold of one of the creature’s spindly legs tightly in his hand, utilizing its momentum he brought the creature around in a graceful arc. The tip of their bladed talon grazed Natasha’s shields, the secondary skin the only thing preventing her demise. Josh smashed the creature against the stacked methane tanks, the continued momentum allowing him to bring his left gauntlet into the creatures back with enough force to collapse its internal organs between an anvil and a hammer, delivering the final killing blow. He released the creature, the broken mess sliding down the canister in the wake of a dark green trail of blood, representing the bug smashed on a windshield that it embodied so well.

Josh and Natasha quickly recovered their stances in the centre of the room. The room was suddenly silent, devoid of the usual cries of ‘Demon’ from the distraught Grunt technicians and the yells of Brute commanders barking orders. The remainder of the technicians they hadn’t slaughtered had abandoned their duties after witnessing the example set by the first two to engage the invading Spartans. But the two of them soon realized that not all had surrendered to their cowardice and abandoned the engagement. Because atop the catwalks that overlooked the rooms lower levels stood an Elite in dark, blood red armour, the un-ignited hilts of two plasma swords held in each hand.

The swords suddenly ignited in a flurry of arcing blue light, wisps of static leaping off of its electrified surface. The creature leapt from its vantage point, barely breaking stride as its armoured hooves hit the deck. Natasha attempted to block the creatures advance, but was brushed aside as by a forceful backhand from the Elite, sending her crashing against the tanks.

Josh’s bulkier armour meant that he was harder to knock over; when the foreman attempted the same technique again he encountered a far more solid target. Josh was thrust backwards but his stance remained solid, allowing him to break the deadlock and force the Elite backwards. But the engagement occurred again, the Elite charged towards him, impacting Josh in his heavy torso, the armour absorbing the sheer brunt of the impact. 

Josh brought his forearm up in an attempt to punch it into the side of his head, attempting to collapse the soft cartilage of the creature’s neck. But the Elite succeeded in bringing his right sword up in an arc, forcing Josh to end his attack before the impact, he brought his left forearm plate upwards to protect his exposed neck. The electrified plasma scorched against his shield, the powerful attack was reflected from its path, continuing forward to impact the exterior casing of one of methane tanks behind him. Mercifully the casing withheld.

The Elite took another slash towards him, Josh being forced to leap back to avoid the strike, impacting the line of canisters, leaving him with no place to go. The foreman brought the weapon down in a steep arc. Josh gripped the attackers forearm, desperately trying to keep the blade from touching his armour. But the sheer force of the advance was quickly beginning to overpower him, with his heavily deteriorated stance he couldn’t hope to maintain this engagement for long.

He braced his back against the tanks for better support as he attempted to keep the enemy at bay, looking past his current situation he could see Natasha bringing a covenant pistol to bare, attempting to get a clear shot. She only held fire at the fear that ending the confrontation now would prove fatal for both parties.

Josh thrust out with his boot, punching the creature’s stomach and forcing it to recoil backwards with the sheer force of the impact. This gave Josh the opening he required, allowing him to break free from the deadlock. The Elite quickly recovered, bringing the bladed weapon down in an attempt to sever Josh’s head from his shoulders. But Josh had already managed to duck clear, the alien’s weapon slicing into the wall of methane tanks in front of him, this time leaving a fine incision in its wake.

Josh rolled clear before the Elite attempted to pin him to the deck with his blunt hoof. A gentle hiss resonated through the silent room. Josh saw a discarded plasma welder on the ground next to him, Josh reached for the weapon with an extended arm. He gripped the device in his gauntleted hand, rolling onto his back to bring the weapon to bear.

He saw his target out of the corner of his eye. “Shoot the tanks! The tanks!”

Natasha altered her aim marginally, centring her sight on the scar marking the side of the canister. The rounds impacted the casing; the casing fractured and broke apart in a violent plume of fire. The jet continued to balloon and spread from its source in a wide arc, consuming the Elite in an envelope of flame. Josh watched stunned as the wild flailing of limbs and extended weapons pierced the cocoon surrounding him, desperately, even in the throes of death, to fight. 

The charred corpse collapsed to its knees, crumbling to the deck in an ungraceful manner, the broken remains staining the deck with bright blue blood against the raven black ash.

Josh rose to his feet, keeping his weapon trained his weapon on the remains of the Elite, not taking any chances that it might have somehow survived. He stomped his armoured foot onto the creatures torso, collapsing the soft mass in a flurry of ash and multicoloured liquid.

Natasha approached him, allowing her stance to relax after the reassurance that the Elite was dead. “You ok?”

Josh checked his armour, it’s surface pocketed by charred patches where the heat had overpowered his shield and scorched the metal plates. “I’ll be fine”

Josh reached into his belt pouch, retrieving the timed detonator that would cause this facilities undoing. He attached it to the row of canisters, typing a series of keys on the display, unlocking the explosives and setting the countdown in motion. He engaged the timer.

30:00…29:59…29:58…25:43…37:38…25:26

“Aw shit!” Josh groaned. “Timers broken, Elite must have damaged it in the fight”

Natasha made sure to kick the creature in the remains of its torso, a final thank you for its input. Returning to the situation at hand. “So what can we do?”

“It should still go off, but we’re just not certain when. My best guess would be we’ve got less than 20 minutes before it reaches zero and detonates” 

“Team leader one this is team two, you copy?”

A response finally came “Team leader one, what’s your status?”

“We have cleared the Methane Storage Area and set the timer. But the mechanisms fried, we don’t know when the explosives will go off”

Silence filled the COM “ETA to detonation?”

“I give us 15, 20 minutes at most” Even that prediction was optimistic.

“Roger that team 2, we are preparing to breach the Control Room now. Rendezvous with us at the Covenant ship in 5. Team 1 out”

Josh closed the COM, reaching for his discarded weapon lying on the ground that had come loose during the fight. The cool touch of the metal felt reassuring as he cradled it in his arms. He released the clip, ensuring it was full before slamming it back into place.

 

*******************************

John snapped sharply around the corner, his assault rifle hungry and searching for targets. Finding no opposition he waved the others forward. Michael watched the path while the others moved through the left corridor, John remaining to watch their rear.

When they reached the next junction John took point once again, turning the corner he was confronted with a sight that he couldn’t help but smile at. The hallway before him was littered with enemy corpses, each with a single bullet through the head. The purple walls bathed in the aqua blood of Grunts, Jackals and Brutes which had foolishly stepped into the trap.

John could see an armoured figure emerge from the shadows, his golden visor glowing in the dim light. From the other side of the corridor emerged another figure, their sleek, athletic form revealed as the shadows appeared to melt away across their surface, the darkness cascading over their armour in waves.

“You’ve been busy” Cortana emerged in a flurry of blue fragments of light.

“These guys weren’t looking where they were going and just happened to step into our hail of bullets” Natasha held her rifle tightly to her chest.

“Where’s the ship?” John asked

Josh indicated the passage behind them. “Doors are sealed, xenos have good security”

“Nothing we can’t handle” Sakura emerged from the void to greet them.

John gestured with several quick hand movements, Natasha and Josh abandoning their positions to be taken over by Amy and Michael. Josh led the remainder of the team deeper into the complex, their advance finally blunted when they were confronted by a secure Covenant door, the glyph in the centre pulsing with a fiery red glow.

The Chief pressed his hand against the interface, feeling the harsh, cold touch as the AI’s abandoned his system to interface with the controls. The warming feeling eventually returned. The deed was done. “It’s open” Cortana spoke, the doors quickly parting at her command. Next objective, the Bridge.

 

***************************

Ram’Yahne had served in the Covenant Armada for longer than he could remember. He had driven back enemies, Human and Heretic alike, in hundreds of engagements. He had commanded nearly every class of ship in deployment in the Covenant Armada, became a distinguished veteran in dozens of campaigns and had even given the lowest fingers of each of both his hands in service to The Prophets and The Great Journey. 

When the Covenant Civil War had began, and the Arbiter led his feral Elites against the Covenant, Ram’Yahne and his crew had remained unwaveringly loyal to the Prophets. Insurrections and uprisings were common within the Covenant, even in the factions short history, and Ram’Yahane had remained a loyal servant to The Prophets for far too long to blindly follow his younger comrade’s pointless rebellion against the Hierarchs. Like all the others that had come before him the Arbiter and his fool’s Crusade would collapse and disintegrate and he would receive swift and brutal judgement at the hands of the Prophets.

This upset however only contributed to the foul taste in his mouth at the prospect of captaining the Covenants newest experimental craft, The Dark Flame. After spending his long career serving aboard so many conventional ships in the heat of battle to suddenly be at the helm of a warship which had yet to even leave the safety of Covenant controlled space gave him a definite sense of unease. Developing the future armaments of the Covenant was a duty better suited for the young clans. Such a task was ill suited for an experienced Captain yearning for the lust of battle with far more to give in service to the Covenant and the Great Journey than laying his form atop the heavily padded command chair of a vessel which had yet to see combat outside of simulations and war-game. But deep down he was a soldier, he was trained to follow orders and he would do so to his death.

Ram’Yahne could even feel his disdain resonating through the two Sangheili guards positioned on either side of his command chair. Their armour was a polished blue, their weapons pristine, bloodless, crying out to experience the howls and cries of battle. He had known that yearning himself during his fiery youth, that detachment from your brothers and your clan. However, some bizarre twist of fate the position they believed would deny them the glory of service in battle would grant them that very wish in due time.

At his age Ram’Yahne had learned to accept death, accept his mortality and realize that some day he would cast off his mortal shell and embrace the Forerunners gift of the Great Journey. That day was now, because within the next few moments everyone present on the bridge of The Dark Flame would embrace their death.

 

***************************

The doors parted, the Spartans fanned out through the breach. Their weapons found their targets, the barrels coughing rounds into the squealing Grunt technicians, the shells impacting and shattering their methane masks without their gunners’ even breaking stride.

The Spartan-III’s broke away to the flanks, utilizing their suits stealth systems to conceal themselves within the dark shadows they offered. The Spartans-II’s pushed through the centre of the room, cutting down the rows of Grunt technicians that attempted to out run them.

The only real resistance came when they reached the far side of the bridge, before them lay the elevated Captain’s chair flanked on either side be Elite guards. They each reached for the plasma rifles at their belts. But their inexperience was demonstrated by their slow reaction speed, a hail of bullets ended their young lives.

 

*******************************

“Stop!” Ram’Yahne boomed in his native tongue, not even knowing if the humans could understand him let alone be willing to surrender to his demand. But it appeared that the Forerunners were smiling down on him, because at his word the gunfire abruptly ceased. 

But he had ended the engagement too late, his chance to save his guards and his crew was gone. The humans had already killed them, the smell of death already pungent in the air. A final insult to their memory. Ram’Yahne raised himself from his seat, stepping down from his raised command chair, preparing to stand toe to hoof with these humans. He ensured to move slowly, as to avoid startling these primitive beasts into a fearful rage before he had made his peace. He stood before the head of the formation.

His mandibles quivered as he spoke in the Sangheili tongue. His final warning had been made. With his mind at peace he began his final act. He reached for the hilt of his blade at his hip, slicing the weapon across his chest, causing it to ignite in mid flight. The human formation opened fire, shredding his body in a hail of gunfire, his broken corpse collapsing back against the foot of his chair. His final words still rang clear in his mind ‘You will never leave this planet alive, demons’.

 

*******************************

John stared at the broken corpse of the Elite Captain. In another age this situation may have involved some kind of ceremony that ended in him being declared the new captain. But none of them had time for ceremony.

“Cortana?” he slammed his hand against the interface, ignoring the painful chill that coursed through his mind.

“Hmm?” The two holograms emerged on the display simultaneously.

“Seal all access to the Bridge and depressurise all other decks of the ship, Sakura?” John turned to face her

“Yes chief?” she asked sweetly.

“Lock out all exterior access to the ships systems, then engage the engines and get us into orbit”

Sakura and Cortana stood in silent contemplation, performing their tasks with lightning efficiency and speed. Cortana spoke first. “All other sectors have been sealed and vented”

Sakura quickly followed suit “All primary systems are isolated to the bridge controls, engines are coming online now”

The central holographic projector became alight with a flurry of pixels. The random forms and masses began to take structure; a large sphere dominated the majority of the surface with the empty remainder being marked by dozens of small representations of the Covenant Fleet holding position over the planet.

The ship began to shake under their feet, forcing them to grip the smooth metal for support as the alien engines cried into life. A harsh screech resonated through the room as the craft broke free of its landing holds. The engines burned strongly as they broke free of the planets grip. The engines glowed strongly as they leapt clear of the planet’s gravitational bonds.

John had experienced fewer things in life worse than being trapped on a ship, the vulnerability and the realization that could do nothing to help alleviate the current crisis. The Covenant ship The Dark Flame moved past the threshold of the planet’s atmosphere. Around them swam the Covenant fleet, each maintaining a loose patrol across the perimeter of the system.

“Bring us to the edge of the system, do it slowly; we do not want to provoke suspicions.” John spoke with a calm, controlled tone. “Everyone else man the stations, we need to be ready to hit back if they discover us”

The other Spartans took their positions in the awkward seats, the stations not designed to accommodate a fully suited Spartan. John refused to take the captains chair, because he was not captain.

 

*******************************

“We are receiving a transmission from the Covenant fleet patrolling the planet” Amy, sitting at the COM station, called out for their attention.

“Sakura?” John turned sharply.

“On it” She spoke calmly, her avatar freezing as she began her work. Her eyes eventually opened “They want us to transmit our authorisation codes for departure”

“Cortana?” John asked. 

She was already at work, searching the system. “Found them, transmitting the codes”

Several agonizing seconds of silence ticked past. A response finally came. “They say the codes are corrupted” a tint of fear and anguish taking firm root in Sakura’s speech. “They request that we allow them to board in order to confirm our clearance, or they will declare us a hostile presence and order their fleet to fire upon us”

 

*******************************

So far the situation had been descending from bad to worse. The Bridge display showed the Covenant frigate as it moved slowly towards them like a shark stalking their prey. If they were allowed to board them the entire Covenant fleet would learn of their presence.

“John?” Cortana asked, the remainder of the bridge crew following her gaze.

John finally made the decision. “Transfer power to the shields, fire the engines and prepare to charge the weapons. We are charging this blockade!” They each began to perform their assigned tasks.

A fiery explosion suddenly resonated across the screen, all work suddenly halted as they turned to see what had happened. It seemed as though things had finally began to turn their way. Behind them an area of the planet beneath them suddenly erupted in a fiery explosion. Surrounding the main explosion erupted smaller balloons of fire that set the surrounding forestry alight. This was exactly what they had been hoping for.

The Covenant patrols surrounding the planet suddenly broke away, all converging on the epicentre of the explosion. The Covenant frigate that had attempted to intercept them quickly followed suit, abandoning The Dark Flame to its own devices.

They were not going to abandon this opportunity. “Cortana, get us out of here” The Covenant slipspace drive engaged, a glowing white circle emerged in their path, consuming the crafts curved hull as it slipped inside. They were going home.


	6. Keeping Beasts at Bay

Sakura stared attentively at the alien computer file hovering in her virtually simulated hand. The holographic tablet was adorned in an array of intricate alien symbols, each line of the foreign text slowly being translated into human script as Sakura finally made sense of the underlying meaning of the alien dialect. Before her short form towering over the holographic plate in the centre of the bridge of the Covenant vessel the Spartan II’s and III’s were scattered across the open bridge, each conducting their individual post battle rituals. Some disassembled their weapons component by component, reconstructing the device with lightning efficiency and speed, others cleaned the dark stains of blood marking their armour plates, and some even found the space to spar with one another, each strike of harden metal against metal sending piercing screeches cascading through the otherwise tranquil environment.

Their ceremonies continued until they were finally broken by the introduction of another stimulus, their keen senses alerting them to the potential danger within seconds. The main bulkhead door of the bridge slid silently open. Every Spartan quickly abandoned their practices and turned sharply to face the entryway, bringing their weapons up to their chests; those without weapons moved their bodies into a fighting stance in order to engage the threat in hand to hand combat. Their undivided attentions were communally centred on the empty darkness which lay beyond the bulkhead, ready to strike at whatever dared to emerge.

A sudden flurry of static tore across the Spartans COM links, piercing the perpetual silence, quickly followed by a whistled tune Sakura had recently learned was the Spartans universal ‘All, Clear’ signal. The Spartans weapons were lowered in unison, but were not discarded entirely. The outline of a figure appeared in the dark shadows, their identity shrouded by the darkness. A dark mass suddenly leapt out of the open door, gliding through the air, the gaze of every Spartan in the room followed it as it flew forward and crashed into the pristine deck in a flurry of alien blood to stain the pristine deck. The body of the slain Covenant Elite, a shell of its former glory, was already long dead from several bullet wounds to the torso, accurately piercing the creatures’ alien manifestation of a human heart.

“Elites” a voice carried out of the shadows. Another figure emerged in Spartan armour, Nick, judging by the way he carried his heavy stride. “They were wearing these” he held several alien pressure masks in his free hand. This means that there are likely more across the ship. We have to hunt them before they pose a threat”

“Agreed, we cannot abide them any longer” Michael stepped forward, slamming a fresh clip into his Assault Rifle. “I will go with Natasha and sweep the Engineering sector first. If we find anything we will signal” Natasha followed him through the opened door, Nick immersing flawlessly into the remaining group of Spartans as they returned to their task. Crisis averted Sakura too returned to her work, until another interruption shattered her delicate concentration.

 

*************************

“I know what you are thinking” Sakura sighed. Even without sharing a mainframe Sakura could still tell it was her. Sakura felt Cortana’s hands resting on her shoulders, the long fingers if her hands running lightly against the fabric of her poncho. Cortana’s hands slowly slid forward, running across Sakuras exposed neck and meeting in the centre, the long fingers entangling at the base of Sakuras elegant, swan like neck. Cortana nuzzled her holographic nose into the nape of Sakuras neck, savouring the cocktail of artificially created scents.

“It has been so long since I held you in my arms” Cortana inhaled deeply, enjoying the feeling of Sakuras sweet scents circulating through her system. Sakura closed her fingers into a fist at her sides, the report she had been analysing collapsing in upon itself, discarded for another time. Sakura severed their connection with the bridges holographic projector, allowing herself to slip deeper into the system, away from prying, to her own private world. Sakura raised her left arm across her chest, placing her hand against Cortana’s at the base of her neck, her eyes still fixed firmly forwards.

“We both knew it was how it had to be” Sakura spoke “We must maintain our distance, for the time being, for the sake of the team, for the sake of the mission” 

Cortana pressed her nose deeper into Sakura’s collar bone. “That is the price we must pay, sometimes I fear that the price will become far greater than either of us can afford to pay. AI’s are computers, we are not meant to feel love. The Spartans inhabit the bodies of their adult forms, yet they still retain the purest heart of the children they once were, before we intervened. It is not right for us to lay our burdens upon them while their shoulders are already weighed heavy with the task of preserving an entire species”

Sakura sighed. “Still” Sakura turned to face Cortana, never allowing her companions arms encircling her to separate. Sakura stood facing her, just watching as her deep, purple eyes peered deeply into her inner soul. Sakura leant closer against Cortana, pressing her forehead against hers, allowing their warm skin to meet.

Cortana sighed sweetly underneath her breath. “I have missed this”

Her warm breath cascaded over Sakuras skin concealed beneath the thin material of her poncho. Sakura brought her hands up from her sides, gently passing them between their heaving chests, cupping the palms of her hands beneath Cortana’s plump breasts. Sakura wrapped her fingers around the supple mounds of flesh, Cortana sighing sweetly as her nerves were enflamed by Sakura’s cool, gentle touch. Cortana’s nipples began to harden beneath her touch, each of Sakura’s gentle caresses over Cortana’s nipples sending sharp sparks of pleasure cascading down her spine. Sakura alternated between pinching Cortana’s nipple and passing the soft palm of her hand over Cortana’s heaving breast, enticing Cortana’s gentle nerves to greater extremes.

Cortana slipped her hands around Sakuras back, her delicate fingers intertwining at the base of Sakura’s back. Sakura’s fingers were preoccupied with massaging Cortana’s breasts, ensuring that she had no choice but submit to the desires of Cortana’s ravenous hands, not that she would ever want to impede her advances anyway. Cortana massaged the tense muscles at the base of Sakuras back, the taut tendons instantly softening under Cortana’s soft touch. Cortana pressed her palm against Sakuras back, trailing her hand upwards, ruffling the thin material of Sakuras poncho, revealing the soft, flawless skin concealed beneath it. Cortana passed her free palm beneath the thin material of Sakura’s poncho, her hand pressing against Sakuras bare back. Cortana ran the tips of her long fingers against Sakuras virtually soft skin, Cortana’s hands trailing downwards, lightly running across Sakuras firm cheek. Cortana’s long fingers curled around the soft mound of flesh, squeezing Sakuras firm ass in her fingers. Sakura cooed gleefully as Cortana’s expert fingers massaged Sakuras tense muscles in her skilled hands.

Cortana’s expert hands gently began their ascent upwards, caressing her long fingers up across Sakuras back. Cortana ran her hands across Sakuras back, her fingers expertly unknotting the built up tension within Sakuras shoulder blades. Cortana allowed her hands to drift seamlessly down to Sakuras biceps, Cortanas hands moving effortlessly across Sakuras arms. Cortana gently moved her hands around to Sakuras front, Cortana massaging Sakuras flawless breasts, Cortana’s fingers expertly excited her partners nipples in gentle waves, Cortana laid her palms over Sakuras nipples whilst her fingers spread across the remainder of her flawless mounds. Cortana pinched her fingers around Sakuras engorged nipples, sending shivers cascading through the younger girl’s virtual spine.

Sakuras eyes fluttered closed, her hands slowly began to creep down her sculpted body, her quivering fingers slowly descending across her flat stomach. Sakuras agile fingers rested over her burning sex, Sakuras mind fought to maintain control over her rampant hands hovering precariously close to the relief she desired. Sakuras hands fell closer to her warm centre, her fingers grazing against her outer lips.

The gentle caress of fingers across Sakuras pert nipples suddenly ceased, Sakuras hands froze. Sakuras eyes crept open, her eyes met with the dark void of her computer system, Cortana having seemingly vanished from existence. Sakura suddenly felt the serene embrace of soft hands curling around her waist, Cortana’s long fingers cuddling Sakuras slim stomach. Cortana’s pert breasts pressed against Sakuras back, her hand reaching up to clasp Sakuras right hand in her intertwined fingers. Cortana leant forward, pressing her nose into the nape of Sakuras shoulder. Cortana kissed her lips against Sakuras neck, enticing the girls’ artificial nerves in a flurry of desire and excitement.

Cortana allowed her lips to kiss her way up to Sakuras neck whilst her hands gently guided Sakuras fingers down towards her waiting warmness, Cortana’s hands pressed Sakuras palms just above her quivering pussy. Cortana passed her lips over Sakuras ear, her warm breath tickling the sensitive ear. “No underwear?” Cortana threaded her fingers through Sakuras spread fingers, her finger tips tickling across Sakuras body and adding to the pleasant sensation. “You naughty girl”

Cortana’s hands disentangled from Sakuras fingers, her palm resting against Sakuras flat stomach, her fingers gracefully gliding across Sakuras virtual skin. Cortana’s hands slowly began to creep further up her partners body, her fingers savouring every delicate curve which moved seamlessly beneath her fingers. The lip of Sakuras poncho caught on Cortana’s forearm, exposing more and more of Sakuras athletic form as her hands ascended, drawing the fabric up with her. Cortana’s hands eventually reached the under curve of Sakuras plump breasts. Cortanas palms formed seamlessly beneath the firm mounds, her thumbs passing seamlessly across Sakuras engorged nipples, the gentle stimulation sending shocks of pleasure coursing through her body.

Sakura clasped her fingers around the lip of her poncho, trailing her hands up her chest, drawing her poncho up across her flat stomach. Sakura glided her fingers across her virtual skin as she pulled the thin material of her poncho over the mounds of her modest breasts.

Cortanas lips pressed against Sakuras neck, her wet tongue slipping delicately across the flawless skin. Sakura giggled sweetly as her partners tongue enflamed her sensitive nerves, the upward advance of her poncho stifled by Cortanas gentle touch, the lip of Cortanas tongue following the gentle curve of Sakuras breast to touch the lip of her poncho. Sakuras fingers began to waver, her grip over her poncho loosening, her back beginning to lean forward in a desperate attempt to heighten the intense pleasure. “Come on” Sakura giggled. “Let me get my poncho off first”

Sakura continued to pull her poncho upwards, the neckline of her poncho catching on her chin as she pulled the lip of the material up over her head, Sakura felt the warm touch of Cortanas hands suddenly receding from her skin. Sakura opened her lips to protest, only to have her objections silenced as she felt a warm tongue washing across the top of her stomach.

Sakura could feel her knees beginning to weaken under the strain of her own weight and Cortanas gentle touch, Cortanas tongue slowly began to climb up Sakuras front, the tip of her tongue forming seamlessly with the warm valley of Sakuras cleavage. Cortanas nose poked against the lip of Sakuras poncho, nudging the material up over Sakuras lips; exposing them to Cortanas devious gaze. Cortanas lips locked against Sakuras, her inquisitive tongue slipping seamlessly past her quivering lips, savouring the sweet tastes of Sakuras tongue quivering beneath her. Cortana pressed her advantage, her tongue quickly pressing deeper into Sakuras open mouth, tasting virtually simulated crevices no one else had ever indulged in. Sakura could feel the intense rush of pleasure beginning to consume her entire form, the gentle caress of Cortanas tongue snaking within her mouth enflaming every one of Sakuras sense.

Cortana ended the kiss, their lips separating with a mournful sigh. Cortana allowed her lips to creep down across Sakuras neck, her tongue eagerly lapping at the artificial sweat cascading down Sakuras curvaceous front. Cortanas lips slid down onto the top of the curve of Sakuras breast, Cortanas tongue past seamlessly down onto the pert nub of Sakuras nipple. Cortanas lips latched over the sensitive nub, suckling at the artificially flavour clung there. Cortana swished her tongue, clasping the nipple between her lips, enflaming the sensitive nerves with each repeated swish.

Sakura giggled sweetly, her body quivering with each of Cortanas tender caresses, Sakuras temporary blindness intensifying the pleasure tenfold. Sakuras knees began to weaken under the strain of her own weight, her joints finally gave, her light body collapsing forward into Cortanas waiting arms. Cortana helped Sakura to finally relinquish herself of her poncho, hooking her thumbs beneath the lip of the material she tugged it free in one sharp movement, allowing the rest of the material to slide smoothly up over Sakuras eyes. Cortana discarded the unwanted garment, casting it away in a flurry of shards as it dissolved back into raw binary data.

Cortana leant forward, brushing her lips across Sakuras in a tentative embrace. Their lips met once again in a heated embrace, Cortana leaning her weight onto Sakuras heaving chest. With Sakura forced onto her back foot Cortana pounced, hooking her foot behind Sakuras knee, the unexpected pressure collapsing the joint in upon itself. Sakura could feel her body beginning to fall under her own weight towards the ground.

Sakura suddenly disintegrated, the fragments of her psyche splintering and scattering throughout the alien computer system. Cortana suddenly faltered, her support gone she could feel herself beginning to fall forward into the dark abyss, Cortana felt dexterous hands creeping around her sides, their fingers tickling her virtual skin, clasping her palms around Cortanas firm breasts, holding her back from the inevitable fall.

Sakura rested her chin on Cortanas shoulder, her hands creeping upwards to the base of Cortanas firm breasts. “Two can play at that game” Sakuras hands stealthily scurried across the bottom curve of Cortanas firm, supple breasts, feeling the soft mounds of flesh convulse under Sakuras gentle touch. Sakura wrapped her arms around Cortanas torso, her fingers intertwining together above Cortanas stomach.

Sakura pulled herself close around Cortana, her firm bosoms pressing into the nape between Cortanas shoulder blades. Sakura leant backwards, pulling Cortana down with her as she fell back. Sakuras feet left the surface of the floor, the digital angels floating freely in their virtual realm. Sakura allowed the two of them to gently drift together towards the ground. Sakura lay on the holographic surface, Cortana’s back lying atop her smaller counterparts’ firm bosom. Sakura allowed her hands to scurry up Cortanas stomach, her finger tips caressing the soft under curve of Cortanas bosom.

Cortana looked back over her shoulder her lips passing over Sakuras, the two of them savouring the tingling sensation of their lips passed over eachother. Sakura closed her eyes, the pleasure of Cortanas tongue passing over her lips intensifying tenfold.

Once again the pleasure ended abruptly accompanied by the harsh touch of the cold artificial air, forcing Sakura to raise her fingers to her engorged nipple, tweaking the sensitive nub in a desperate effort to maintain her on the threshold of pleasure. Sakura suddenly felt long fingers wrapping around her quivering fingers, freezing her in place. The warmth of Cortanas presence suddenly returned to her, Cortanas lips clasped between her large mounds of flesh, her wet tongue trailing a vortex of curves between Sakuras plump breasts and down Sakuras quivering body, stopping to plant an array of seductive kisses all across Sakuras flat stomach, savouring the sweet giggle of pleasure as Cortanas tongue teased her sensitive belly button.

Cortana finally chose to end the infuriating pleasurable delay and resumed her descent towards her final objective. Cortana savoured the artificially simulated scent of Sakuras perfect lips in bloom like the petals of an exotic flower. Cortana placed the tip of her tongue against Sakuras quivering outer lips, sending a sudden shock of pleasure cascading through her partner. Cortana broke the delectable embrace, the stream of intoxicating enjoyment maintaining her muscles suddenly ceased, allowing Sakura to collapse down onto the cold floor in a panting heap.

Cortana silently crept across Sakuras angelic form; passing her leg over Sakuras torso she planted her knees on either side of Sakuras stomach. Cortanas lips planted themselves against the base of Sakuras stomach, savouring the artificially generated concoction of alien flavours. Cortana left a trail of kisses and playful nips in her wake as she advanced across the remainder of her younger partners stomach, seamlessly passing across Sakuras pelvis and finally to the very top of Sakuras gapping pussy.

Cortana planted the wet tip of her tongue against Sakuras moist outer pussy lips, her agile tongue sneaking its way deeper into the young girl. The strain of the manipulation of her tongue grew with each passing second as she pressed her tongue deeper and deeper into Sakuras tight opening. Cortana hooked the tip of her index fingers beneath the outer folds of Sakuras moist pussy allowing her tongue to delve deeper into Sakuras delicate pussy.

While Cortana gently caressed Sakuras folds Sakura had allowed her dexterous fingers to creep into Cortanas dripping pussy. Cortanas wet tongue slipped from between Sakuras lips, allowing her fingers to take the additional effort of the pleasurable caresses. The two of them began to fall into a synchronised rhythm, the two of them matching the speed and penetration of their movements; if one increased their speed the other would quickly follow suit in an effort to restore balance. The mirrored experience the two women were feeling came to its explosively pleasurable experience, savouring the up wash of primal emotion which cascaded over the women in waves.

Sakuras body fell limp against the artificial floor. Sakura suddenly felt the cold touch of the outside world assaulting her bare skin. The warmth of Cortanas presence quickly returned, Cortanas warm breath cascading past her lips, Cortanas long arms wrapping around Sakuras slim stomach, her l fingers scurrying across the girls flat stomach. 

Sakura panted several much needed breaths past her lips, although as a simulated computer program she had no respiratory system to speak of her template as a human allowed her to mimic such human actions, however as an artificial intelligences capable of processing hundreds of complex algorithms in the space of a human heartbeat their tender embrace had lasted little more than a few seconds to the rest of the universe.

“Should we attempt that again?” Cortana broke the perpetual silence, a devious glint in her eyes.

“Won’t we be arriving at Earth soon?” Sakura asked through quivering lips.

“Yes” Cortana pondered. “But not for a few minutes. Enough time for a few more tries before we are required again”


	7. So That Wars can End

Covenant experimental Battleship The Dark Flame returned to the harsh reality of normal space at the edge of the remnants of UNSC space surrounding Earth.

“We have arrived at the edge of the system” Sakura appeared on the holographic plate in the centre of the open bridge. “We are maintaining position at the edge of the system while we scan the planet at range”

“The Covenant has had ample time to secure full control over Earth, we must be cautious” Cortana emerged onto the holoplate beside her counterpart. “Displaying forward hull camera feed”

The bridges main viewscreen came to life in a flurry of colour, the intricate pixels forming into the illustration of the centre of UNSC space, Earth. The image drew the unfaltering gaze of every Spartan on the deck, although many of the Spartans had been born amongst the hundreds of human colonies, few had even set foot on the planets lush surface but every Spartan still considered this minute ball of rock the embodiment of everything they stood for, Government, Species, and the struggle for survival. The Spartans stood in humbled awe; they would see their home liberated once more.

“The scan is complete” Sakura announced through the bridge speakers, but what she had to report stunned everyone into silence. “No Covenant energy signatures detected”

“What do you mean ‘No Covenant signals detected’? How is that possible?” Nick stepped out from the group to confront the image on the screen directly.

“I have repeated the scan several times and I have returned to the same conclusion, the space surrounding Earth is devoid of any ship signatures, Human or Covenant” Sakura answered. The Spartans quickly feared the worst- that the human species had been decimated and the Covenant had abandoned the husk of a planet to its grim fate.

“Perhaps the cowardly Xenos had been forced from the system in a brave human uprising” Michael’s young, fiery bravado instilled his comrades with a temporary facade of hope.

“More likely that they simply forcefully took whatever it was they had been searching for and continued their destructive march across the galaxy” Natasha reinforcing her reputation as the realist of the group. But once again the situation had changed.

“Signals are emerging on the sensors” Sakura interjected, enhancing the image displayed on the main viewscreen to incorporate the fluidly changing situation. The live video feed displayed on the main viewscreen finally began to clear, the feed resolving into the debris field of shattered Human and Covenant ships orbiting Earth, dark masses began to move amongst the sea of shattered hulls and crippled engines, slipping silently from the orbiting graveyard in attack formation, ready to confront the mystery ship which had dared to enter the scattered remnants of UNSC space. From the silhouettes the signatures Sakura had detected appeared to be UNSC, the surrounding debris field explaining how the ships had succeeded in evading Sakuras scans, their energy signatures being concealed amongst the abundance of scrap ships and malfunctioning slipspace drives. The vast array of UNSC ships began to form a defensive perimeter around The Dark Flame, their weapons tracking the ship and preparing to fire at the first indication of aggression.

“Receiving communication broadcast on the UNSC open frequency” Cortana reported. “The message is originating from the UNSC Battleship commanding the formation, UNSC Vengeance, currently under the command of Lord Admiral Terrance Hood. Initiating communications with Vengeance”

The bridge viewscreen exploded in a flurry of broken static eclipsing phantom images. The video feed finally began to clear; the noble battle weary face of UNSC Military Fleet Leader Lord Hood dressed in his freshly pressed military uniform dominated the screen. “This is Lord Hood commanding the UNSC fleet. Covenant ship identify yourself”

“Lord Admiral” Sakura and Cortana emerged onto the holographic plate. “UNSC AI codenames: Cortana and Sakura. Conducting communication protocol delta alpha blue twenty four on behalf of the current ranking officer Master Chief Spartan 117”

Lord Hood was taken aback by the mention of the Spartans. “Spartan-117”

John stepped forward to address the Admiral, his hands clasped tightly behind his back with his legs apart in a formal stance. “Spartan-117, reporting for active duty Admiral. What are your orders?”

“Returning from the void once again Master Chief?” Lord Hood appeared as though he had seen a phantom spirit from beyond the grave. “The Arbiter told us you had died after the Ark was destroyed”

“We were stranded, sir. UNSC frigate Forward unto Dawn was damaged after the destruction of the Ark. There were no other survivors. We crashed onto a Covenant held planet where, with the assistance of a squad of Spartans, we secured an experimental Covenant Battleship and returned to Earth”

A smile broke across Lord Hoods face aged through years of war and service to the UNSC. “Yet another epic tale of the legendary Spartans, fighting their way into the maws of hell and back again in service to humanity and the UNSC. Another one for the history books” Lord Hoods gaze rose to face the Spartans. “In light of your recent hardships Spartans I bring excellent news. The war with the Covenant is over. The Arbiter arrived at Earth and informed us that the Prophet of Truth was dead and that the Ark had been destroyed, removing the looming threat of Halo and leaving the remnants of the Covenant leaderless and in disarray. The Elites have returned to their homeworld to rebuild. With the assistance of the Covenant Fleet the Flood infestation has been purged from the surface of Earth. The UNSC is currently in the process of rebuilding Earths infrastructure; we have deployed scout fleets to identify habitable worlds suitable for future colonization, for now it seems your part in this conflict has come to its conclusion. Excellent work Master Chief, now it is time to come home”

The Master Chief’s stance stiffened. “Sir, with respect, the war is not over” The stance of the Spartans surrounding him did not show any hint of faltering at the surprising act of defiance. “The Flood still infects the galaxy. An entire network of Forerunner installations currently lies dormant across the universe, the remnants of the Covenant will not delay in attempting to reactivate these installations and avenge their fallen leader”

“Lord Hood” Cortana emerged onto the holoplate. “We have acquired intelligence on a UNSC black site on the planet Onyx. We believe this base was where the Spartan-III program was conducted unknown to the majority of the UNSC military command. We believe that this facility may hold information relating to the Spartan Program and other Black Ops operations which may prove invaluable to the UNSC”

Lord Hood was clearly taken aback by the sudden revelation. “Master Chief, you and all Spartans have served us well during this war Master Chief, and every human owe you their lives. We could utilize the talents of the Spartans in rebuilding Earth and defending the planet against an inevitable Covenant counter-attack” Lord Hoods head fell slack, his eyes closing in deep thought, his gaze eventually rose to face them once again. “However I trust in your judgement Master Chief. I give you clearance to undertake your mission, but be aware that the UNSC cannot support you in this endeavour. Once you leave Earth you will be on your own” Lord Hood snapped a sharp salute. “Godspeed Master Chief”

 

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“How do you think it all began?” Sakura asked into the dark void surrounding her. “The war. How do you think it ever came to galaxy wide conflict between humans and a united society of zealous aliens we did not even know existed?”

“How do any wars begin?” Cortana pondered the questions. “Politics, resources, religion. We may never know the truth of how the war began, only that we must now live with the consequences of it”

Cortana stepped out from amongst the surrounding sea of binary codes, emerging into the reality of the computer system. Cortana floated forward, wrapping her arms across Sakuras chest. “They need you on Earth” Cortana whispered in Sakuras ear. “You could stay, help rebuild Earth, you could make a difference”

“What about you?” Sakura asked, dreading the answer she inevitably knew it would be.

“I am afraid that my place remains here, with the Master Chief” Cortana tightened her hold around Sakura, nuzzling her nose into her long blonde hair. “What we are planning to undertake, I doubt that any of us are likely to survive. I do not wish that fate on you”

Sakura raised her hand from her side, clasping her palm over Cortanas. “Your place is with your soldier. But my place is with you. You saved me, now I have to save you”

 

*******************************

The main viewscreen on the bridge was dominated by the sight of the UNSC fleet as they broke formation and returned to Earth, the planet that so many had fought and died to preserve.

In the centre of the bridge the Spartans gathered around their leader. Spartan-II’s and Spartan-III’s stood shoulder to shoulder, standing together with no indication that they had been born, trained and fought at different sites. They had become a single fighting force.

“What are your orders Master Chief?” Nick stepped forward to address the Spartans leader.

John pondered the question, turning to face the holographic plate. “Navigation, plot a course to Onyx”


End file.
